Thermo-viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior of high-density polyethylene

Observations are reported on high-density polyethylene in uniaxial tensile tests with constant strain rates and relaxation tests at various temperatures ranging from 25 to 90 °C. A constitutive model is derived for the nonlinear viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior of semi-crystalline polymers at three-dimensional deformations. Adjustable parameters in the stress–strain relations are found by fitting the experimental data. It is demonstrated that (i) the model correctly approximates the observations and (ii) material parameters are independent of strain rate and change consistently with temperature.     

Volume changes in glassy polymers

Summary Constitutive equations are derived for compressible glassy polymers at non-isothermal loading with finite strains. The model is based on the theory of temporary networks in its version of adaptive links concept. The stress–strain relations are applied to the analysis of uniaxial extension of a viscoelastic bar. Explicit formulas are developed for time-dependent Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the bar at small strains. Results of numerical simulation are compared with experimental data for polycarbonate, polyethylene, and poly(methyl methacrylate). It is demonstrated that (i) longitudinal stresses do not affect the specific free volume in the region of linear viscoelasticity at strains up to about 0.2%, and cause substantial changes in the free volume in the region of nonlinear viscoelasticity at strains about 1.0%; (ii) in the latter case, the increment of the free-volume fraction is proportional to the increase in the specific volume. Received 3 April 1998; accepted for publication 22 June 1998     

A model for the nonisothermal behavior of viscoelastic media

Summary A new constitutive model is derived for the viscoelastic behavior of polymers under non-isothermal loading. The model extends the concept of adaptive links (entanglements) between polymeric molecules to thermoviscoelastic media. By using experimental data for Nylon-6 and polyisobutylene in the vicinity of the glass-transition temperature, we find parameters of the model and study their dependence on temperature. The model is employed for the numerical analysis of the material response to time-periodic loads under isothermal conditions and to time-varying loads under heating. The results of numerical simulation demonstrate fair agreement with experimental data. Accepted for publication 23 May 1996     

Thermo-mechanical large deformation response and constitutive modeling of viscoelastic polymers over a wide range of strain rates and temperatures

A phenomenological one-dimensional constitutive model, characterizing the complex and highly nonlinear finite thermo-mechanical behavior of viscoelastic polymers, is developed in this investigation. This simple differential form model is based on a combination of linear and nonlinear springs with dashpots, incorporating typical polymeric behavior such as shear thinning, thermal softening at higher temperatures and nonlinear dependence on deformation and loading rate. Another model, of integral form, namely the modified superposition principle (MSP), is also modified further and used to show the advantage of the newly developed model over MSP. The material parameters for both models are determined for Adiprene-L100, a polyurethane based rubber. The constants once determined are then utilized to predict the behavior under strain rate jump compression, multiple step stress relaxation loading experiment and free end torsion experiments. The new constitutive model shows very good agreement with the experimental data for Adiprene-L100 for the various finite loading paths considered here and provides a flexible framework for a three-dimensional generalization.     

聚氯乙烯弹性体静动态力学性能及本构模型

为揭示聚氯乙烯弹性体在静、动态载荷下的力学性能,采用万能材料试验机和改进的分离式霍普金森压杆实验装置获得了材料在应变率为0.001、0.01、0.1、1 510、2 260和3 000 s?1下的应力应变曲线,并以屈服强度为整形器优选参数,对比了紫铜、铜版纸和铅等3种整形器材料的整形效果。使用修正的ZWT非线性黏弹性本构模型描述聚氯乙烯弹性体在静、动态载荷下的力学性能。结果表明:聚氯乙烯弹性体在静态载荷下具有应变率效应和显著的超弹性特性,动态载荷下表现出较明显的应变率效应和较强的抗变形能力,且静动态载荷下的力学行为受应变历史影响较大。3种整形器材料中铜版纸的整形效果最好。修正后的ZWT非线性黏弹性本构模型能够得到统一参数的本构表达式,且各应变率下的拟合结果与实验结果具有较好的一致性。     

Rate dependent finite strain constitutive model of polyurea

Continuous loading and unloading experiments are performed at different strain rates to characterize the large deformation behavior of polyurea under compressive loading. In addition, uniaxial compression tests are carried out with multistep strain history profiles. The analysis of the experimental data shows that the concept of equilibrium path may not be applied to polyurea. This finding implies that viscoelastic constitutive models of the Zener type are no suitable for the modeling of the rate dependent behavior of polyurea. A new constitutive model is developed based on a rheological model composed of two Maxwell elements. The soft rubbery response is represented by a Gent spring while nonlinear viscous evolution equations are proposed to describe the time-dependent material response. The eight material model parameters are identified for polyurea and used to predict the experimentally-measured stress-strain curves for various loading and unloading histories. The model provides a good prediction of the response under monotonic loading over wide range of strain rates, while it overestimates the stiffness during unloading. Furthermore, the model predictions of the material relaxation and viscous dissipation during a loading-unloading cycle agree well with the experiments.     

A constitutive model in finite viscoelasticity

A new constitutive model is suggested for the viscoelastic behavior of rubber-like materials at finite strains. The model treats a viscoelastic medium as a system with a variable number of purely elastic links, which can arise and collapse due to micro-Brownian motion of molecules.Assuming that the processes of birth and death for elastic links are independent of stresses, we obtain operator linear constitutive equations in finite viscoelasticity. According to this model, elastic and viscous effects may be distinguished and described independently of each other by a relaxation measure and a strain energy density.The potential energy of deformations is assumed to depend on the principal invariants of the relative Finger tensor of strains. Unlike the standard approach, we do not suggest any expression for the strain energy densitya priori, but suppose that this function is presented as a sum of two functions of one variable which are found by fitting experimental data.The proposed approach allows results of several experiments (uniaxial tension, biaxial tension, and torsion) for styrene butadiene rubber and butyl rubber to be predicted correctly.     

Viscoelasticity and viscoplasticity of polypropylene/polyethylene blends

Observations are reported on polypropylene/polyethylene blends with various concentrations of components in uniaxial tensile tests with constant strain rates, relaxation tests, and creep tests at room temperature. A model is developed for the viscoelastic and viscoplastic responses of polymer blends at arbitrary three-dimensional deformation with small strains. Material constants in the constitutive equations are determined by fitting the experimental data. It is found that all adjustable parameters evolve with blend composition following an analog of the rule of mixture. Lifetime of blends under condition of creep rupture is evaluated by numerical simulation.     

Prediction of nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of polymeric composites using an artificial neural network

Creep tests at constant stress are performed for the carbon-fiber reinforced epoxy composite at various temperatures and initial stresses. A nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model is developed, and its material parameters are determined by fitting it to creep test data. Model results are found to agree very well with the experimental data at low temperature and low stress conditions. However, the agreement deteriorates at high temperatures, particularly in the vicinity of the glass transition temperature.An alternative model based on an artificial neural network (ANN) is developed to predict the stress relaxation of the polymer matrix composite. The ANN model is trained and validated with 9000 experimental data sets obtained from stress relaxation tests performed at various constant strain (initial stress) and constant temperature conditions. Training of the ANN employs a scaled conjugate gradient method. The optimal brain surgeon algorithm is employed to optimize the topology. The optimal ANN configuration has 88 processing elements (3 in the input layer, 45 in the first hidden layer, 39 in the second hidden layer, and 1 in the output layer) and 410 links. The predictions of the ANN model are found to be more accurate over a wider range of stress and temperature conditions than those of the explicit nonlinear viscoelastic model, in particular near the glass transition temperature.     

Experimental investigation and modeling of the tension behavior of polycarbonate with temperature effects from low to high strain rates

The effects of strain rate and temperature on the tension stress–strain responses of polycarbonate are experimentally investigated over a wide range of strain rates (0.001–1700 s⁻¹) and temperatures (0–120 °C). A modified split Hopkinson tension bar is used for high-rate uniaxial tension tests. Experimental results indicate that the stress–strain responses of polycarbonate at high strain rates exhibit the nonlinear characteristics including the obvious yielding and strain softening. The tension behavior is strongly dependent on the strain rate and temperature. The values of yield stress and strain at yield present a dramatic increase at higher strain rates and decrease with the increase in temperature. Moreover, there exists a significant rate-sensitivity transition in the polycarbonate tension yield behavior. Based on the experimental investigation, a physically based three-dimensional elastoplastic constitutive model for the finite deformation of glassy polymers is used to characterize the rate-temperature dependent yield and post-yield behavior of polycarbonate when subjected to tension loading. The model results are shown close to the experimental data within the investigated strain-rate and temperature ranges.     

Mullins’ effect in semicrystalline polymers

Observations are reported on isotactic polypropylene in uniaxial cyclic tensile tests at room temperature. A model is derived for the viscoplastic response of semicrystalline polymers at three-dimensional deformations with small strains. Adjustable parameters in the stress–strain relations are found by fitting the experimental data. It is shown that polypropylene reveals some characteristic features of the Mullins effect that can be quantitatively predicted by the constitutive equations.     

An Approach to Constructing a Rheological Model of a Strain-Hardening Medium

The one-dimensional constitutive equations of strain-hardening materials subject to nonlinear creep are derived. The solution is found using the hypothesis of unified deformation curve based on the similarity of the tensile and isochronic creep curves. A generalized rheological model is constructed which accounts for the instantaneous strain rate, loading rate, and the mode of strain hardening. This model is used to derive one-dimensional constitutive equations for linear viscoelastic, nonlinear viscoelastic, and linear- and nonlinear-hardening viscoelastoplastic materials. It is shown that the creep of linear viscoelastic and linear-hardening viscoelastoplastic materials is transient. For nonlinear viscoelastic and nonlinear-hardening viscoelastoplastic materials, all the characteristic stages of creep are present     

NEPE推进剂低高应变率下改进的黏-超弹本构模型

为研究低高应变率条件下NEPE推进剂的力学特性,通过电子万能试验机和分离式霍普金森杆装置,对NEPE推进剂进行了准静态和冲击实验,得到了不同应变率下（1.667×10?4～4 500 s?1）的应力-应变曲线。实验结果表明NEPE推进剂具有明显的非线性弹性和应变率敏感性,随着应变率的增加,材料的强度、屈服应力和弹性模量显著增加,与低应变率相比,高应变率条件下材料的应变率敏感性更高。在高速冲击下材料内部瞬间产生大量热量无法及时散发出去,使得材料内部温度升高,导致材料出现软化效应,力学性能降低。本文建立了一个非线性黏超弹本构模型,其中采用Rivlin应变能函数来描述稳态超弹响应部分,采用积分型本构模型来描述材料的动态黏弹性响应部分,考虑到松弛时间具有应变率相关性,本文采用了一个率相关松弛函数来替代传统的Prony级数形式。使用极慢速压缩实验数据对本构模型中的超弹部分进行拟合获得超弹参数,然后用准静态和动态实验数据对本构模型进行拟合得出其他参数。不同应变率下的预测曲线与实验曲线具有较好的重合度,证明了该模型可以很好地描述低高应变率下NEPE推进剂的力学特性。     

丙烯酸弹性体的率相关分数阶黏弹性模型研究

丙烯酸弹性体VHB 4910作为一种重要的介电弹性体,在软体机器人、致动器、俘能器和智能隔振器等领域有很好的应用前景.但材料的非线性黏弹性对其力学行为有显著影响.近来分数阶模型在复杂材料的建模中取得了成功.本文基于分数阶有限变形Kelvin-Voigt流变学模型建立弹性体的三维张量本构,并进一步推导单向拉伸情况下的本构...     

Modeling the response of filled elastomers at finite strains by rigid-rod networks

Summary  A constitutive model is developed for the isothermal response of particle-reinforced elastomers at finite strains. An amorphous rubbery polymer is treated as a network of long chains bridged to permanent junctions. A strand between two neighboring junctions is thought of as a sequence of rigid segments connected by bonds. In the stress-free state, a bond may be in one of two stable conformations: flexed and extended. The mechanical energy of a bond in the flexed conformation is treated as a quadratic function of the local strain, whereas that of a bond in the extended conformation is neglected. An explicit expression is developed for the free energy of a network. Stress–strain relations and kinetic equations for the concentrations of bonds in various conformations are derived using the laws of thermodynamics. In the case of small strains, these relations are reduced to the constitutive equation for the standard viscoelastic solid. At finite strains, the governing equations are determined by four adjustable parameters which are found by fitting experimental data in uniaxial tensile, compressive and cyclic tests. Fair agreement is demonstrated between the observations for several filled and unfilled rubbery polymers and the results of numerical simulation. We discuss the effects of the straining state, filler content, crosslink density and temperature on the adjustable constants. Received 3 January 2001; accepted for publication 12 July 2001     

Viscoelasticity of brain corpus callosum in biaxial tension

Computational models of the brain rely on accurate constitutive relationships to model the viscoelastic behavior of brain tissue. Current viscoelastic models have been derived from experiments conducted in a single direction at a time and therefore lack information on the effects of multiaxial loading. It is also unclear if the time-dependent behavior of brain tissue is dependent on either strain magnitude or the direction of loading when subjected to tensile stresses. Therefore, biaxial stress relaxation and cyclic experiments were conducted on corpus callosum tissue isolated from fresh ovine brains. Results demonstrated the relaxation behavior to be independent of strain magnitude, and a quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) model was able to accurately fit the experimental data. Also, an isotropic reduced relaxation tensor was sufficient to model the stress-relaxation in both the axonal and transverse directions. The QLV model was fitted to the averaged stress relaxation tests at five strain magnitudes while using the measured strain history from the experiments. The resulting model was able to accurately predict the stresses from cyclic tests at two strain magnitudes. In addition to deriving a constitutive model from the averaged experimental data, each specimen was fitted separately and the resulting distributions of the model parameters were reported and used in a probabilistic analysis to determine the probability distribution of model predictions and the sensitivity of the model to the variance of the parameters. These results can be used to improve the viscoelastic constitutive models used in computational studies of the brain.     

Constitutive relation of viscoelastic dielectric elastomer

In this paper, we present a modified model describing the constitutive relation of viscoelastic dielectric elastomer (DE). The uniform uniaxial tension-recovery experiment was carried out at different stretching rates. Based on Yeoh hyper-elastic model, model-fitting approach is put forward to obtain the relationship between parameters of Yeoh model and stretching rate, thus the modified model was obtained. From the approximate relationship between harmonic motion and uniform reciprocating motion, the stress–strain curve in the recovery process was also identified through the hysteresis between stress and strain. The modified model, with concise form and evident physical concept, can describe the strong nonlinear behavior between deformation and mechanical stress of the material in a common stretching rate range (from 0.01s^?1 to 0.8s^?1 at least). The accuracy and reliability of the modified model was examined.     

高应变率下航空透明聚氨酯的动态本构模型

采用低阻抗分离式霍普金森压杆对航空透明聚氨酯进行了高应变率下的动态力学性能测试,得到的应力应变曲线表现出了显著的非线性黏弹性特征。基于本构理论和实验数据,构建了航空透明聚氨酯的松弛时间应变相关的超黏弹性本构形式。该本构模型由2部分组成:一部分表征准静态下的超弹性行为,另一部分描述非线性应变率的相关特性。利用超黏弹性本构模型对不同应变率下航空透明聚氨酯的动态应力应变曲线进行拟合,拟合曲线与实验曲线一致性良好。     

柔性硅泡沫薄片的短时松弛行为研究

根据多孔硅泡沫材料的单轴压缩和应力松弛实验,利用最小二乘法的LM法拟合得到硅泡沫材料的本构关系.基于上述模型开展了组合结构中多孔泡沫薄片应力松弛行为的数值模拟,得到了短时松弛过程中硅泡沫结构件的应力变化规律.